


For the First Time

by shions_heart



Category: Free!
Genre: (because of Rin obviously), Angst, Fluff, Headcanon, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-05 03:37:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4164249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shions_heart/pseuds/shions_heart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Reigisa, Sourin, and MakoHaru first spoke those three life-changing words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the First Time

**Author's Note:**

> These headcanons aren't necessarily set in stone; they're just things that I think would make sense if they happened.
> 
> Enjoy!

When Rei first said it, it was on accident. It wasn’t that he didn’t mean the words; he’d just been waiting for the right time to say them. But one night, a mere three months after they officially started dating, they slipped out.

It was only their second time having full sex. And as Nagisa rocked on him, his face scrunched up in that expression of pure pleasure that Rei found so beautiful, the feeling intense affection began to overwhelm him. And as he climaxed, Rei was unable to hold it back.

“I love you, Nagisa-kun,” he gasped, clinging to the smaller boy, as Nagisa slowed to a stop.

Embarrassed, Rei buried his face in Nagisa’s neck, not minding how warm the skin was. His own face was flushed and sweaty, and as silence grew he became anxious.

“I-I mean—” he started, and then stopped, realizing that he didn’t want to take the words back. He stood by them.

“What did you mean, Rei-chan?” Nagisa asked softly, his hands resting lightly on Rei’s back. There was disappointment in his voice, and Rei wondered what that meant.

He lifted his head to look back at his boyfriend. Nagisa face was so close; Rei could see it clearly even without his glasses. Still, he hesitated, not sure how his words would be received.

Nagisa tilted his head to the side. “Do you love me, Rei-chan?” he asked then, a faint grin turning the edges of his lips.

Rei swallowed, nodding with a sigh. “I do,” he admitted. “Very much. I didn’t want to tell you so soon. It seems more practical to wait until we’re sure that the relationship is working, you see? It’s not very—”

Nagisa kissed him before he could finish his thought, and that was all it took for Rei to relax. He supposed saying it so soon wasn’t as disastrous as he’d feared.

 

***

 

The problem with Nagisa was that he told everyone that he loved them. He made it no mystery how much he cared about his friends, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to blurt the words out to random people when he was happy: the man who ran the ice cream stand, the Iwatobi-chan mascot, even Gou when she had a particularly good idea.

He’d told Rei the words before, but it’d been in a playful setting. So now, soon after Rei’s own confession, he wanted to express his own feelings for his boyfriend, but Rei never seemed to take him seriously.

“I love you, Rei-chan!” he exclaimed one day, as they rode the train home from school.

“Yes,” Rei had responded with an absent nod, his nose in his book.

Another time, he’d shouted it from his window, as Rei left his house for home after an eventful tutoring session.

He’d given that adorable embarrassed chuckle in response, with a slight wave, before he’d turned away, leaving Nagisa red with frustration.

“I really really love you, Rei-chan,” he tried once more, as the two of them stood in line to buy tickets for a movie.

“I know,” Rei had replied, smiling faintly. And he gave him a brief kiss, before he adjusted his glasses and looked away.

When Nagisa had finally complained to Makoto about how Rei kept rejecting his declarations of love, the older boy had laughed softly.

“Perhaps the situations are wrong,” he suggested. “Rei is a rather reserved individual. He’ll probably react better in a less public setting.”

Nagisa gave this some thought, and realized that Makoto was right. It’d been silly for Nagisa to expect a heartfelt reply from Rei in public or by shouting across the street. So the next time they spent the night together, after a round of satisfying sex and as they began to drift to sleep, Nagisa snuggled up against Rei’s chest. He nuzzled his head against it, before saying softly, with all the tenderness he could muster, “I love you.”

Rei stilled, and his arms pulled Nagisa closer. “You . . . you truly mean that, don’t you?” he said quietly after a moment.

“Yes, Rei-chan. I’ve been _trying_ to tell you for _weeks_ now.” Nagisa could feel his relief and elation rise in his chest, as Rei lifted his chin to kiss him deeply.

“I love you too,” Rei murmured, and this time there was no embarrassment.

 

***

 

Sousuke’s confession came much later in his relationship with Rin. The two of them maintained a long-distance relationship fairly well through letters, phone calls, and Skype. Despite this, it was established early on that if either of them found someone they felt they wanted more, they were to end things amicably, so that they’d both be happy.

However, Sousuke found pretty quickly that there was no one else that he wanted. Despite the distance, his fondness for the other young man only grew. And although he knew that he’d probably always come second to Nanase Haruka in Rin’s heart, he couldn’t stop himself from falling further in love with his best friend.

And a year and a half later, when Sousuke had earned enough money working a part-time job and had a break in his classes, he traveled to Australia to surprise Rin.

Rin appeared happy to see Sousuke, and the two of them spent several hours making up for lost time. Afterwards, Sousuke told Rin about how he’d decided to go to the police academy, though he still planned on swimming with Rin whenever he could. Rin responded with snark.

“So does that mean we’ll get to play with handcuffs the next time I see you?” he asked, grinning that shark-toothed grin.

“Seriously?” Sousuke responded with a long-suffering sigh. “That’s the first thing you ask about? You’re incorrigible.”

“But you love me anyway,” Rin teased, elbowing his friend.

“Yeah, I do.”

It slipped out before Sousuke could stop himself, and for a moment they both froze and Rin stared at him in shock. Then Sousuke sat up and quickly began to get dressed. Rin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his grin from earlier nowhere to be seen.

“You’re just beginning your swimming career,” Sousuke said with a frown. “You have the talent and the will to become an Olympic champion. I’m not going to allow myself to get in the way of that.”

Rin’s expression darkened further. “What makes you think you’d get in the way of anything?” he asked.

“I’m in Japan, and you’re here in Australia. If this becomes more than what it is . . . I _know_ you, Rin. I know how you obsess over things. You’ll want to make our relationship perfect. You’ll lose sight of your dream. I can’t let that happen.”

“Tch, how I pursue my dreams and who I want by my side as I do is for me to decide, not you!” Rin’s cheeks flushed with anger, and his hand gripped the shoulder of Sousuke’s shirt. “You think you’d keep me from my dream? Knowing that you believe in me is part of the reason why I continue fighting!”

Sousuke stared at him in shock. “I thought that you fought because you wanted to beat Nanase at the Olympics.”

“My life doesn’t revolve around Haru!” Rin shouted.

“But you love him,” Sousuke pointed out.

“NOT AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU, IDIOT!”

He was breathing hard, trembling, and Sousuke could only look at him, stunned. Then Rin pressed his forehead against Sousuke’s shoulder, and when he spoke again, his voice broke on tears that had gathered.

“Don’t make my decisions for me. If you really love me, you’ll let me have you and my dream both.”

Sousuke reached up to touch Rin’s hair gently. “Okay, Rin,” he said softly, and he allowed Rin to pull him back into bed.

 

***

 

For Makoto and Haruka things were different. The words never seemed that important to say, because they showed each other how they felt in a hundred different ways each day. They had a unique bond that transcended speech, though eventually both Makoto and Haru realized that it would be nice to hear every once in a while.

Makoto, knowing Haru struggled with expressing himself through words, took it upon himself to say them first. As they snuggled on the couch watching _Finding Nemo_ and eating mackerel, Makoto placed a small kiss on the top of Haruka’s head.

“I love you,” he said plainly, causing Haru to pause.

Then he leaned further into Makoto, a tiny smile crossing his features, as a faint blush colored his cheeks.

Later that night, as they lay in bed, holding each other in the dark, Haruka replied.

“I love you too,” he said softly, burying his face in Makoto’s neck then. Makoto chuckled softly, and kissed the top of his head.

From the time they were children, for Makoto, loving Haru had always been as easy as breathing.

For Haru, loving Makoto was like swimming in a lake under a waterfall.

To Makoto, Haru’s eyes were more beautiful than any sea he’d ever seen.

To Haru, Makoto’s smile was sunlight itself.

And they each knew this about the other, and, because of that fact, they also knew that their love was stronger than any they’d encountered before. And there had never been any doubt in either of their minds that they would be together forever.

**Author's Note:**

> So cheesy. But I had the headcanons so I ran with it. XD


End file.
